North Carolina Newspapers

PAGE TWO THE PILOT—rSouthern Pines, North Carolina WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 1966 “Sold To North Carolinians, Tax-Free .. ■LOT Southern Pines North Carolina In taking over The Pilot no changes are contemplated. We will try to keep this a good paper. We will try to make a little money for all concerned. Wherever there seems to be an occasion to use our influence for the public good we will try to do it. And we will treat everybody alike.” — James Boyd, May 23, 1941. Crucial Problem Of Slippery Highways Last week’s front page warning about the slippery surface of the new ly repaved No. 1 highway, between Southern Pines and Aberdeen, was a rather frightening little item. It was meant to be. The story told of four traffic acci dents in one day last week, quoting both the Aberdeen police chief and a highway patrolman on the hazards of the new road when its smooth asphalt surface gets even a little bit wet. Thq, story inspired action by a Whis pering Pines resident, George N. Adams, who clipped The Pilot’s story and sent it, with comments, to Gov. Dan K. Moore who has made highway safety a special concern of his admin istration. The Pilot’s report, Mr. Adams told the Governor, “raises in my mind the serious question as to why our High way Department continues to use this type pavement throughout the State . . .” The letter told the writer’s own ex perience on the highway in question: “. . . I have nearly lost control of my car several times when driving at a moderate speed well below the speed limit posted.” The letter continued, making a great deal of sense: “I travel over this State a good deal and I find this same situation on many of our new roads. Just why does the Highway Depart ment build new roads and immedi ately find it necessary to place Slip pery When Wet signs? . . . Road builders should be the first in cor recting hazards, rather than creating them. “Many of our roads in this state and elsewhere are built of asphalt with a rough or pebble surface, rather than this glass-slick asphalt they are now using, which gets worse and worse as oil from cars builds up on the sur face. “If the nationwide drive for more safety in cars and highways is to mean anything, I think it high time that our highway authorities take the neces sary steps to eliminate the hazards they are creating ...” No. 1 highway is travelled by many out-of-state motorists who are driving at high speeds and who are likely to increase speed, rather than slow down, when they hit the long, straight, six-lane stretch of highway between Southern Pines and Aber deen. Even if local drivers, whether from personal experience like the writer to Governor Moore or from hearsay, are extra careful on this road, the hazard from unfamiliar drivers would appear to be extreme. Moreover, the six-lane form of this highway and its many entrance drive ways for motels, restaurants, service stations and other establishments, greatly compounds the danger. There is every likelihood that abrupt stops and turns—which start skids—would be necessary and, with cars traveling in three lanes, each way, it is obvious that a multi-car pile-up might be the result of a skid by only one vehicle. If there is a built-in, basic hazard in the type of road surface used on No. 1, between Southern Pines and Aberdeen, and if this type is being widely used over the state, the high way Commission should make some revision in its specifications. As to the particular road in ques tion, motorists in this area should take warning and practice “defensive driv ing” to the extent that transient drivers will perhaps also become aware of the hazard. Regardless of the road surface, this is a dangerous highway, because of the many entrance driveways cited and because of the Highway 15-501- 211 intersection, requiring turns across oncoming traffic lanes. Should there not, therefore, be a “congested area” speed limit of 45 miles per hour (or even less) imposed between Southern Pines and Aber deen? The Highway Department has done a good job of remarking lanes and turn regulations on this road since the resurfacing was done. The “Left Lane MUST turn Left” designation is a great improvement. We are sure Highway officials are aware and wor ried about the obvious hazards. But if the road is as slippery as of ficers and motorists say it is, some further drastic action is called for. Guest Editorial From The Smilhfield Herald The War Still Lacks A Moral Base The war in Vietnam goes on, at its intensified pace. Peace hopes rise occasionallv, but mostly they have subsided. President Johnson, Wash ington reporters tell us, is “relieved,” now that the big decision to bomb the supply centers at Haiphong and Hanoi is behind him. The President, we are told, feels secure in the knowledge that his war policy is backed by a substantial majority of the American people. Polls show that the President’s popularity in the South grows with each escalation of the war. The coun try increasingly seems resigned to a long, hard war. The voices of dissent—the criticisms of Washington policy emanating from the Senator Fulbrights and the Wal ter Lippmanns—are not wholly silent, but they are heard less and less. Still, nothing has happened this year or last year or the year before to make the war in Vietnam a righteous war or a war worth the price the United States is Having for it, in men and money. Wa,shington reports tell us that President Johnson cannot understand why any loval American who is in formed on Far Eastern affairs can lo- picallv oppose his war policy. The President has gone about the country trying to explain to the people ■'vhv the United States wages war in Viet nam. But the President’s explanations Loyal Opposition Increasingly—not least of all by President Johnson himself—any op position to the war in Vietnam is in terpreted as a form of disloyalty, no matter how rationally it may be ar gued nor how impeccable the charac ter and standing of those who voice such convictions. And the war, continuing to escalate, goes on. The Pilot commends to readers—as typifying a reasoned, bold questioning of the United States Vietnam policy— today’s “guest editorial” from The Smithfield Herald. Here is a “grass roots editor’s” expression of a view point that many Americans, including those who have served their country in war, must deeply feel. Many concerned Americans find their reason and their conscience leading them to similar conclusions. Their “loyalty” should not be ques tioned. Indeed, unless the moral im peratives in the Vietnam dilemma are heeded by policy-makers, we can see no outcome except steadily mounting carnage and steady debasement of the United States in the eyes of the world. Two Is O. K. Everybody used to wonder why Mrs. McKechnie drove so erratically. Sometimes she’d go spin ning along in her small car at a good clip; another time she’d go by fits and starts, creeping for a while, then putting on speed. And sometimes she’d knock her fender against the roadbank or' bump into the gutter. But only when she was going slowly, thank goodness. The reason for this style of driving finally came out. It seemed that Mrs. McKechnie was extremely superstitious. All sorts of odd things sailed through her mind, but there was one in particular that real ly bothered her, especially when she was driving a car. She knew, with the faith that moveth mountains, that if you saw a magpie you were sure to have an accident. ■Well, there were magpies in that section of England and sooner or later one would cross the road. Immediately Mrs. McK. would throttle her down to a snail’s pace and then the spell took hold; She’d swerve off the road, bump hard against the bank or bury the car’s nose in a thick hedge. She’d extricate herself and then, without more ado, put her in gear, lean back, and off she’d go at top speed. The peculiarity of this re versal of her former hesita ting ways turned out to be simply a continuation of the same magic. One magpie spot ted meant an accident—but two magpies meant good luck UNITED NATIONS REPORT General Assembly To Face Important Tasks BY JAMES BOYD United Nations Correspondent do not deal with the basic question. We intervened In Vietnam’s civil war. When the Vietnamese people succeeded in driving the French co lonial rulers out of their land, the United States moved in to thwart the efforts of the people of Vietnam to be rid of foreign—and Western and white—domination. It has been ar gued, of course, that we moved into Vietnam because of our fear that Communist China is determined to spread its domination over all South east Asia. Assuming that this is a valid fear and that China stands as a threat to U. S. security (it should be noted that some knowledgeable students of Far Eastern affairs think we are overly fearful of China), what right does the United States have to move its military forces into Vietnam and ra vage that land and its people in the name of U. S. security? This question is basic. Many critics of the Johnson Admin istration have questioned our legal right to military intervention in Viet nam, but the more important ques tion is whether we have any moral right to go into another country, par ticipate in its internal revolution, ra vage its land and kill many of its in nocent people—to protect interests of the United States. Loyal and informed Americans who do not believe that vital U. S. inter ests have been threatened in Vietnam and who hold the conviction that there is no moral basis for our inter vention in Vietnam cannot become re signed to this war and cannot refrain from continued protest. Nor can thev refrain from urging the Johnson Ad ministration to become more flexible in pursuing a peaceful settlement of the issues in Vietnam. They regard it their patriotic duty to call upon Wash ington to explore fresh ideas of for eign policy and to work overtime in finding a way out of a military ven ture that degrades the good name of the United States. President Johnson asks Americans to let the U. S. soldiers in Vietnam know that they have 100 per cent sup port from the home folks. We should, of course, let the fighting men know that we are deeply concerned about their welfare, that we have not for gotten them as we go about our daily pursuits in peaceful America. The best way to “support” the fight ing forces is to press for a fresh for eign policy that can achieve an earlv peaceful settlement in Vietnam and hasten the return of U. S. soldiers to their beloved homeland. A few weeks from now, on Tuesday, September 20th, the 21st General Assembly will convene at headquarters in New York. This will bring hundreds of delegates from all over the world, some new, some old, to discuss the problems facing the world and the United Na tions. The opening day is always a festive occasion. Black lim- ousihes pack the semi-circular drive of the UN as distinguish ed arubassadors, many repre senting Foreign Ministers of their countries, arrive to greet friends and catch up on what has been going on. This year the North Dele gates Lounge has been given a fresh coat of paint for the first time since the Secretariat was built, to be ready as the usual popular gathering place where all and sundry will gather. On duty as one of the stars will be Walter, the chief bartender. Walter knows al most every representative by name as well as having an in timate knowledge of what is each one’s particular desire in the form of drinks. First Duly But this holiday atmosphere is soon dispensed with, as the General Assembly proceeds to get on with its business. The first duty will be to elect a President which this year has the popular Asian Ambassa dor Abdul Rahman Pazhwak, of Afghanistan, running unop posed. Ambassador Pazhwak is an old timer at the United Na tions, having represented his country here for over fifteen years. He is a tall, moustached diplomat who speaks flawless English with a particular flair and flavor of clarity and pro fundity. Many times in com mittee meetings it is Ambassa dor Pazhwak who comes up with the right procedure to break a deadlock or find a compromise to a procedural wrangle. So the 21st General Assembly is assured of an able leader, together with a certain amount of color and good humor always essential in gredients to a successful As sembly. Activating Body By the dictate of the Char ter, the Assembly is the delib erative organ of the United Nations. It decides on such vital items as the budget, ad mission of new members, hearing and accepting reports from the Secretary-General of what has been done by the UN for the current year, as well as all the Specialized Agencies and every other as pect of the Organization. It is the body that allows the Or ganization to function. This was the reason why the crisis of Article 19 had such a dis astrous effect oh the life and future of the United Nations. Not allowing a vote meant the General Assembly had its hands tied and, for all intents and purposes, could agree on nothing. That it was able to limp along in 1964 was due en tirely to a unique procedure adopted by the then President^.-. Alex Quaison-Sackey, of sim ply saying: if no one objected to a decision it was considered adopted. The meeting of the General Assembly each year in Sep tember is in some ways the high point of the year for the UN. It is far more than a time for each nation to air its griev ances and discuss world prob lems. It involves the very heart and soul of the United Nations. 'Without it the inter national organization would cease to exist. Large Agenda The agenda this year is simi lar in many ways to items covered in the past. It includes such perennial subjects as apartheid in South Africa, ces sation of all nuclear tests, dis armament, human rights, dec laration of granting indepen dence to colonial peoples, and activities in the fields of econ omic and social development. At the moment, the agenda is not the largest that has ever been presented, but it is close to it, with ninety items. As it has always been a practice to add other items, there is a chance that it may top the 105 topics of last year, which was a I record. Slow Down the Bomb The areas where special em phasis will be put seems to be work on a non-proliferation of nuclear weapons agreement which so far has been stalled at the 18-Nation Disarmament Conference in Geneva. There are growing indications that Gone Are The Days... From The Pilot's Files September 3, 1926 Moore County ranked 62nd among North Carolina’s counties in land evaluation, as listed on the tax books: $26.64 per acre. Gra ham County was last at $6.02 per acre. * * * W. D. Matthews of "Yass passed his State Bar Examination, after scoring 98% on exams in Wake Forest College law courses. * * * From an ad: Lakeside Theatre Reginald Denny in “Rolling Stones” Yes, you read correctly: September 3, 1926? * * * “Today America has its first high speed, European-type Over land Whippet: 55 mph and 5 to 30 mph in 13 seconds.” September 13, 1946 Jack Younts of Greensboro, “for the past several years with American Overseas Airways in New York City,” was present at a Chamber of Commerce meeting to “get the reaction of mem bers in regards to the possible construction of a radio station in this (area).” * * * “Lloyd L. Woolley, Jr., and his bride, the former Carol Thomas, who were married July 22, left Tuesday of last week to make their home in Baltimore, Md.” « ♦ “September 16 will be a busy day (for Carthage) because on that date the tobacco market opens here with two large ware houses in full swing.” September 6, 1956 “A. C. Dawson, superintendent of the Southern Pines school system, will explain the mechanics of the 1955 Pupil Assignment Act and the Pearsall Plan at an open meeting of the Parent Teacher Association tonight at 8 pm in Weaver Auditorium.” ♦ « ♦ “Mayor "Yoit Gilmore, principal stockholder in the new How ard Johnson Restaurant-Motor Lodge being constructed on U.S. Highway 1 South of Southern Pines, and a group of associates announced from Winston-Salem last week that construction of a $225,000 Howard Johnson Restaurant there had started . . . (with) intentions to later construct a 60-unit motor lodge.” is ♦ * Moore County chicken growers sold a total of 4,144,713 chick ens in 1954 to rank 37th among the nation’s more than 3,000 counties. * * * From The Pilot’s own dictionary of Sandhillese: Stow Were — Place where goods are for sale. House Spittle — Place where most bay buzz are bone. My Youth — 'What we speak and eat with. E Your — 'What we hear with. Bud — One of our feathered friends. By Skit Bowel — A popular winter indoor sport. Shiver Lay, Foad, Buke — Popular makes of cows, otherwise known as automobiles, sometimes abbreviated to Ow Toe. the two major powers, the Soviet Union and the United States, may have reached a final stage where a compro mise agreement to treaty terms will result. A second item of unusual interest will be the report of the Special Commit tee on Peacekeeping which has tried unsuccessfully to find a formula for the operation and financing of all peace keeping ventures. China & Vietnanx- It is likely that the two most" controversial issues this j^eaf ’ will be the old question of the seating of Red China and the new problem contained in the continuing war in 'Vietnam. Neither of these subjects has as yet been inscribed on the agenda but no one has any doubt that in time they will be. China will most likely be introduced by Albania, which in the past has championed the cause of this great power. As for the problem of Viet nam, there are signs that the Asian powers, led by Cam bodia, may produce some kind of resolution toward the call ing of an Asian Conference to settle the, dispute. The Assembly will also per form the important task of electing five new members to the Security Council. It seems to be agreed that the present group, whose terms expire (Jordan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Uganda and Uruguay) will be replaced by Syria, Den mark, Ethiopia, Canada and Brazil. It is an accepted rule now that the fifteen - man Council select its members to geographically represent the world. Thus when a non-per- manent African member’s term is up, he is replaced by another African. U Thant To Decide This Assembly will not really be much different from any other regular As sembly, with one imssible ex ception. This is what Secre tary-General U Thant will de cide to do about accepting an other term in November. All year he has been on the fence in spite of the fact that mem ber states have now officially encouraged him to remain. Nevertheless, U Thant hesi tates mainly because his chief points for an effective United Nations have not been met; namely, that the peacekeep ing and financial problems be solved, that Red China be ad mitted, to make the Organiza tion more universal; that stronger steps be taken to close the gap between the rich and pool- nations, and last but not least, that there be an end to the 'Vietnam war which he has termed the greatest threat to the peace since the begin ning of the United Nations. This year at the UN prom ises to be anything but dull. These will be the days when the United Nations will take the limelight, as it reviews for all the world to see, every as pect of its operation, as well as new suggestions and reso lutions to carry on in the fu ture. and clear sailing! And so, having seen one magpie, Mrs. McKechnie broke the speed limit looking for an other. —From The Countryman (cum embellishment) Sure an' it's big. . . Given ...to somewhat exag gerated statements are the Irish. In the sack of potatoes brought in from the fields one day there was a most gigantic potato. It rolled out upon the floor with a thump and “sure an’ we could hardly ate it for lunch,” said the Old Man. “Is it ‘ate’ it only?” hooted the Old 'Wife, “Sure an’ t’is as long as your bench. You could sit on the one end of it and ate the other!” A Deed For All-Time “In the Beginning of the World. . .” Those words are not the start of an Arabian Night’s Dream, nor is this the open ing line of one of the Parables. This portentous statement is the start of the first sentence of a quit-claim deed. It is a Pennsylvania deed: simple, nothing strange about it. Its clauses are common place, the routine thing. The deed is drawn up and signed with the name of a young law yer of the small Pennsylvania town; a Scot, he is. True the Scots are mystical people, ■prone to believe in “ghosties and ghoolies and things that go bump in the nicht.” But it isn’t the feel of ghosts that makes you hold off somewhat from this unusual paper. For these are great words, solemh, huge in their meaning, stretch ing back into the ages and past them into, as it claims, in finity. You find yourself handling this deed, this small piece of paper covering the acquisition of a few stoney acres, rather skittishly. After all, something that talks so intimately, so casually, of The Beginning of the World must be treated with respect. Can't Be Beat! What is the strongest, toughest object—or individual —in the world? Answer: Bermuda Grass. And don’t tell us it’s not an object; or an indivicjual. We’ will.hold to the,;€nd that it is it knows‘where, it’s going and what for. It has an awful lot of other qualities and personalities, too. As for toughness; You can: pull it up^dry it for a year—burn it—and make soap with the ashes—take the soap to wash your clothes— pour out the wash-water and where you have poured it what will come up? BERMU DA GRASS. "Various housewives will swear on the Big Book to the truth of this statement. Gar deners will just swear. HELPING SAVE OLD LANDMARKS The movement for the pres ervation of landmarks receiv ed another welcome boost with approval by the House Interior Committee of the Ad ministration bill to save histor ic sites from obliteration by new highways, housing and other buildings; the Senate has passed a similar measure. The philosophy of the legis lation, which authorizes feder al grants to help preserve “properties that are significant in American history, archi tecture, archeology and cul ture,” is that present public and private programs are in^ adequate in view of commer cial pressures, making feder al aid necessary. This legislation is important and timely. . . —St. Louis Post-Dispiatch THE PILOT Published Every Wednesday by THE PILOT. Incorporated Southern Pines, North Carolina 1941—JAMES BOYD—1944 Katharine Boyd Editor C. Benedict Associate Editor Mary Evelyn de Nissoff Woman’s Page Bessie C. Smith Advertising Lynn Thompson Advertising Ilene Webb Advertising Mary Scott Newton Business Gloria Fisher Business Composing Room Dixie B. Ray, Michael "Valen, Thomas Mattocks, Robert Cof-i fin, Alexander Noell, Charles Brown, Charles Weather spoon, James E. Pate, Sr. Subscription Rates ^ Moore County One Year ... $4.00 Outside Moore County One Year $5.00 Second-class Postage paid at; Southern Pines, N. C. Member National Newspaper Assn, and N. C. Press Assn.